Earthquake Kills at Least 1,600 in Turkey and Syria
A magnitude 7.8 quake was followed hours later by a separate powerful earthquake. The death toll appeared likely to keep rising._
GAZIANTEP, Turkey: More than 1,600 people have been killed in Turkey and Syria, where two powerful earthquakes and dozens of aftershocks on Monday collapsed thousands of buildings and raised the specter of a new humanitarian disaster in a region already wracked by war, a refugee crisis and deep economic troubles.
The initial magnitude 7.8 earthquake hit at 4:17 a.m. local time, according to the United States Geological Survey, and was also felt in Cyprus, Egypt, Israel and Lebanon. A second, separate 7.5 magnitude earthquake struck southeastern Turkey about nine hours later on Monday afternoon, the U.S.G.S. said.
The initial earthquake, centered near Gaziantep in south central Turkey, was the deadliest to hit the country in more than 20 years and was as strong as the tremor of 1939, the most powerful ever recorded in Turkey. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said at least 912 people had been killed as search and rescue teams fanned out across the country.
When his family’s apartment building in Gaziantep started shaking, Serap Sari yelled, “Nobody move!” to his pregnant wife and three children. “I thought my house would be my grave,” he recalled.
About 700 people were also reported dead in northwestern Syria. The affected area stretches across several provinces and the front line between government-controlled areas on one side and areas under the control of the Turkish-backed opposition on another.
Here are the latest developments:
Almost 3,000 buildings had collapsed across Turkey alone after the initial quake, Mr. Erdogan said, and more than 5,000 people had been injured. “We do not know where the number of dead and injured can go,” he said.
Turkey hosts 3.6 million Syrian refugees, the most in the world from that conflict, according to the United Nations refugee agency, which runs one of its largest operations from Gaziantep. Nearly three million internally displaced Syrians live in the opposition-held areas of Syria, which includes a large part of Idlib province, where many live in tent camps, makeshift shelters or damaged buildings.
Videos shared on social media from Turkey and across the border in Syria showed destroyed buildings and rescue crews searching through piles of rubble for survivors. Some fled their homes in the rain and took shelter in cars as the temperature hovered near freezing.
Governments around the world were quick to respond to Turkey’s request for international assistance, deploying rescue teams and offers of aid.
Earthquakes occur frequently in Turkey, which is crisscrossed by fault lines. Recent quakes in the region have caused deadly landslides.
